Kusal Perera likely to become new ODI captain of Sri Lanka - Reports

Wicket-keeper batsman Kusal Perera could soon become the 24th ODI captain of the Sri Lankan men's cricket team.

Reports have emerged in the Sri Lankan media that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is not happy with the current ODI captain Dimuth Karunaratne and wants to replace him with Perera.

“If the captain cannot find an automatic place in the playing XI on merit of his performance, we are not keen on retaining him as captain. So we have weighed all options and ultimately it comes to Kusal Perera,” an official close to SLC recently said, as quoted by The Sunday Times.

Meanwhile, Daily News Sri Lanka has reported that the team management is looking to groom youngsters, keeping the 2023 Cricket World Cup in mind. SLC thus wants to boost Kusal Mendis' confidence by naming him as Kusal Perera's deputy.

"We are focusing on the 2023 World Cup and this is a good learning experience for the players. We want to groom a new captain and most probably Kusal Mendis is tipped to be the new vice-captain. We want to give him that confidence by naming him as the vice-captain," a source in the SLC was quoted as saying by Daily News Sri Lanka.

Kusal Perera likely to replace Dimuth Karunaratne as Sri Lanka’s ODI skipper https://t.co/ba1qnQe5iY

— Reportic (@Reporticdotin) May 7, 2021

The current Sri Lankan captain, Dimuth Karunaratne, has never scored an ODI hundred, while his strike rate in the 50-over format is below 75. Under Karunaratne's leadership, the Islanders lost to West Indies 0-3 in the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.

It seems like SLC has run out of patience with Karunaratne. That's probably why fans could see some significant changes in the Sri Lankan squad for their upcoming series against Bangladesh.

Kusal Perera has played 101 ODI matches for Sri Lanka

Kusal Perera has never captained Sri Lanka in ODIs before

Kusal Perera has been one of the top performers for the Sri Lankan cricket team. The southpaw has played 101 ODI games, amassing 2,825 runs at a strike rate of 92.59.

He has registered five centuries and nine fifties for the team in the 50-over format. Perera also recently captained the Kandy Tuskers team in the Lanka Premier League.

It will be exciting to see how the Sri Lankan side perform under their new skipper in the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League clash against Bangladesh.

Kusal Perera's tenure could begin in Bangladesh ODI tour.#BANvSL #SriLanka #ODIhttps://t.co/KJz6xABUAZ

— bdcrictime.com (@BDCricTime) May 7, 2021